Seashore Learning Center

Corpus Christi, Texas

Seashore Learning Center is a charter school that serves 250 students grades K-4. Our school is located on Padre Island, steps away from the beach and Padre Island National Seashore. Our location and mild temperatures offer ample opportunities for our students to learn outdoors. Our passion for linking daily lessons to the environment led us to embark on an ambitious outdoor classroom project. Our concept for an outdoor classroom was met with enthusiastic support from students, families, community volunteers and donors. Over the past two years we have installed a Storyteller’s Garden, a Butterfly Garden, an interactive math court, and a covered patio for formal direct lessons. These areas of our Outdoor Classroom are maintained by a Garden Club, comprised of 20 children who meet after school once a week, under the leadership of a teacher and a classroom aide.

The mission of SLC is "to provide an educational facility dedicated to developing self-esteem, confidence, and social skills, while providing a foundation for a child's high level of academic achievement.” Seashore’s location makes it an ideal campus for learning about environmental science. All 250 K-4 students will have the opportunity to learn about the use of compost through implementation during their lunch period. All students will be able to follow the growth of the trees in the “orchard”, incorporating the study of life cycles, plants, animals, and environmental awareness through science classes. The children in the Garden Club will have the opportunity to take on a leadership role with the compost initiative, educating their peers and the community. We will share the work through twice weekly emails sent to everyone in our school community, as well as to our local media. Currently we have large sized trash cans in each common eating area and three dumpsters on our campus. Our big goal is to be able to reduce the size of the trash cans in the eating areas and remove one of the campus dumpsters.